Life-saving apparatus.



L. A. LAMAR.

LIFE SAVING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION men NOV. 11. 1914.

Patented A11 17, 1915.

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L. A, LAMAR.

LIFE SAVING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 17, 1914.

1,150,775. Patented Aug. 17, 1915.

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s EN OFFTQE.

LEONARD ALFRED LAMAR, OF PORTLAND, OREGON, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO NELLIE JONES AND ONE-FOURTH TO W. M. HOWARD, BOTH OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

LIFE-SAVING: APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 17, 1915.

Application filed November 17, 1914. Serial No. 872,568.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LEONARD ALFRED LAMAR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon, h. vs invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Life- Saving Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation particularly to marine life saving apparatus of the class designed for individual use and consisting primarily of a body covering in the form of a union suit, the same being preferably made of suitable fabric material thoroughly water-proofed so that when once applied to the person practically the whole body of the wearer excepting the head is protected when a person is thrown into or must take to the Water, as incidental to the sinking of vessels or similar catastrophes.

The invention resides essentially in the provision of peculiar means for harnessing or applying to the life saving suit the buoying up means which comprises, as is customary in this class of apparatus, one or more floats of suitable capacity to effectively prevent sinking of the wearer of the apparatus.

The buoying means above referred to, as well as the suit or body inclo'sure to which it is applied, are designed especially with a view to affording full freedom of movement of the limbs of the wearer and also with a view to facilitating the application of the said means to the suit or body inclosur'e having in view the provision of detachable connections intermediate the parts, employed with the object of permitting collapsing of the apparatus to occupy a minimum amount of space, a desideratum of importance in this particular art.

Another object in providing the peculiar float or buoyant devices attached in the manner hereinafter specifically set forth has been to employ the most simple kind of connections between the floats and the fabric material of the body inclosing suit, the use of pockets necessitating lines of stitching and tending to weaken the imperviousness of the suit notwithstanding that it may be waterproofed, being avoided.

Various other advantages for the apparatus hereinafter described will be recognized upon reference to the accompanying drawings and the disclosure of the details of importance, and in the said drawings Figure 1 is a view in elevation of an ap parat'us embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1: Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 4l-l of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is an end view bringing out more particularly the formation of the neck portion of the suit; Fig. (3 shows a modified form of the attaching means for each float; Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of one of the floats; and Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of the suit or body member.

As seen clearly in Fig. l of the drawings, the main portion of the present apparatus consists of a body inclosure substantially in the form of a union suit A, the arm portions of which are indicated at B, and the leg portions at C. It is contemplated that the extremities of the leg portions C shall be reinforced by soles 1 for obvious purposes and the neck portion of the suit A is provided with ample fullness so that the same may be spread similarly to the mouth of an ordinary bag, whereby to permit the person who is to wear the apparatus to step into the suit and pull the latter over his entire body, practically all portions of the body excepting the head being covered under such conditions. At the neck portion 2 of the suit where the fullness above referred to is located, a drawstring 3 is provided and a friction clip of any suitable form used so that the person equipping himself with the apparatus has only to quickly tighten the draw string 3 after getting into the suit A, where by to practically close the upper end of the suit about the neck in an effective manner.

The buoying means for the suit consists of the floats a which consist of somewhat concavo-convex hollow bodies. I prefer in establishing the buoyant capacity of these members to exhaust the air therefrom to provide a near vacuum, though I do not de sire to be limited to this kind of a float within the purview of the invention. The floats 4 are of ample size to sustain the average person, or perhaps two average persons, afloat in the Water and each float is attached to the suit A at the intermediate portion of the latter, preferably above the waist, by means of vertical straps 5.

To avoid the use of stitching as much as practicable, the ends of the straps 5 are preferably attached to the fabric material of the suit A by means of snap fasteners 6 similar to those used on gloves but of course of much larger size so as to afford substantial connections. A strap 5 is provided for each float and passes through loops or keepers 7, a pair of which is provided on the outer side of each float. I prefer to employ four of the floats, two in rear of a transverse medial line through the suit A, so to speak, and two in front of such line, the number and size and other similar characteristics of the float I deem immaterial, however.

In order to prevent any lateral swinging or play of the floats 4:, I preferably employ a band or belt encircling the suit A and having snap fasteners or connections 6 similar to those mentioned above establishing connection between said band and the straps 5 engaged with the floats 4-. The band 8 tends to hold the floats 4 close against the body in cooperation with the straps 5 and if desired the band may have a suitable buckle to connect its ends and thus draw the buoying means firmly against the body. If desired, the loops 9 may be applied to opposite sides of the suit A through which the band 8 may be passed, said loops, however, are not ab solutely necessary and might be dispensed with.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that a very simple means is utilized to connect the buoying means with the suit or body inclosure A at the proper place whereby the person wearing the apparatus will be held substantially upright afloat in the water under practical conditions of service of the invention.

It is within the scope of my invention that the floats 4 may be harnessed to the suit on the inside of the latter by the means hereinbefore described, the advantage of eliminating stitched pockets, etc., for said floats being incident to this particular application of the same as well as in respect to the preferred adaptation above described.

It will be apparent that should the person contemplating the use of the apparatus herein set forth so desire, by the mere detachment of the uppermost fastener 6 of each strap 5, and the intermediate fastener connecting the strap with the band 8, the floats may be separated from the suit, permitting of rolling the latter into a very small compass of space and the wrapping of the floats very readily in the rolled body A. Space may be economized somewhat by the above arrangement.

In the event it is so desired, buckle connections of any suitable sort may be employed in lieu of the fasteners 6 at the ends of the straps 5 whereby to connect the straps with the suit A, the particular kind of fastenings not being considered essential so long as the general principle of connecting the parts for ready detachment and other adjustments, is availed of. The suit A is of course made of properly waterproofed material and when the straps 5 and band 8 are made of fabric the same would also be waterproofed for obvious reasons.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In life saving apparatus, the combination of a body engaging member, buoying means applied thereto and consisting of a plurality of floats, securing means for each float consisting of a strap connected at its ends with the body member and engaging the float intermediate its ends, and a band extending about the body member and having connection with the straps forming a part of the securing means for the several floats.

2. In life saving apparatus, the combination of a body engaging member, buoying means applied thereto and comprising a plurality of floats, securing means for each float consisting of a strap detachably connected with the body member and extending over the float, connections between the said float and the said strap consisting of loops on the float through which the strap passes, and means connecting the straps associated with the various floats whereby to hold the latter in proper positions relative to one another.

3. In life saving apparatus, the combination of a body engaging member, buoying means applied thereto comprising a plurality of floats arranged in spaced relation, detachable connecting means intermediate each float and the body member, and connecting means between the several detachable connecting means of the floats aforesaid whereby to maintain the floats in proper relative positions in respect to one another.

4. In life saving apparatus, the combination of a body engaging member, buoying means applied thereto comprising a plurality of floats arranged in spaced relation, detachable connecting means intermediate each float and the body member, and connecting means between the several detachable conneoting means of the floats aforesaid whereby to maintain the floats in proper relative positions in respect to one another, and consisting of a band extending about the body member and having detachable connection at intervals in its length with the said detachable connecting means for the floats.

5. In life saving apparatus, the combination of a body inclosure, buoying means associated therewith and consisting of longitudinally arranged floats disposed in spaced and having detachable connection with the suit, loops on each float through which the associated strap passes, and a band passing 15 around the suit and having detachable connection With the straps of the various floats.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

LEONARD ALFRED LAMAR. Witnesses W. M. HOWARD, VERA E. TAYLOR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

